Saturday, May 19, 2012

Too Much Sugar Can Mess Your Brain

[caption id="attachment_157" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Sugar"]Sugar[/caption]

Sugar can make you more stupid. Wow, I'm sure most of us didn't know that. What we know is that too much sugar is not healthy for us as it can lead to diabetes and obesity. But how many of us really wondered what it was doing to our brain? Well, a research team at UCLA took a look and for the first time, made a link between sugar and brain function.

So, what does it do? It hampers your memory and learning. Therefore, you must be more careful in what you eat. If you have children, watch what you feed them. If you are still studying, consider what you snack on when you hit the books.

The type of sugar used in the research was high-fructose corn syrup. This sugar is commonly used as a sweetener and preservative when manufacturing food products. So, stay away from processed foods, soft drinks, condiments, applesauce and even baby food.

The good news is that omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the problem. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are salmon, walnuts and flaxseeds. You can also take DHA in capsule form. Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery recommends one gram of DHA per day. He also advises us to cut down the sugary desserts. Replace them with fresh berries and Greek yogurt instead. Dark chocolate minus the extra sweetener is given the thumbs up too. If you can't stay off the sugar, the least you can do is counter with omega-3 fatty acids.

So, don't just think too much sugar will make you sick, it'll harm your brain too.

No comments:

Post a Comment